Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda Graduates By-Election: Rivalry Intensifies as Polling Day Nears

By IND Today News Desk Last updated May 26, 2024

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Hyderabad: The stage is set for the by-election to the Telangana Legislative Council from the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda graduates constituency on Monday. A total of 4.63 lakh graduates are eligible to cast their votes in this constituency spread over 34 Assembly segments in the undivided districts of Warangal, Khammam, and Nalgonda.

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The Election Commission of India has made elaborate arrangements for peaceful conduct of the polling. The vacancy arose after Palla Rajeshwar Reddy of BRS resigned following his election to the Assembly from the Jangaon constituency in the Assembly elections held in November 2023. Though there are 52 candidates in the fray, the main contest is among Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates.

Coming close on the heels of the Lok Sabha elections, the by-election is witnessing a bitter contest among the main players. For ruling Congress, it is a prestige battle as it is going all out to demonstrate that it continues to enjoy the support of graduates. Jobs for unemployed youth was one of the key promises of the party in Assembly elections and the party tried to assure the voters that it is committed to filling two lakh vacancies by the end of 2024.

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The ruling Congress, which has 33 out of the 34 MLAs in the graduates’ constituency, is confident of wresting the seat from BRS. It has fielded Chintapandu Naveen alias Teenmaar Mallanna, who had contested as an independent and finished second in the election for MLC seat held two years ago.

He is locked in a three-cornered contest with Rakesh Reddy of BRS and G Permender Reddy of BJP. Premender Reddy had secured fourth place in the 2021 poll as BJP candidate. Interestingly, the main candidates were all once friends in the BJP.

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Rakesh Reddy quit BJP to join BRS just before the Assembly elections after he was denied a ticket from the Warangal constituency. Teenmaar Mallanna had also quit the BJP to join Congress just before the Assembly polls. Mallanna runs a YouTube channel considered highly critical of BRS chief KCR and his family. He was arrested for his alleged derogatory posts and comments against KCR when BRS was in power.

In 2021, Telangana Jana Samiti (TJS) president and academician M Kodandaram also contested the poll from this MLC constituency but finished third. In the recent Assembly elections, Kodandaram backed the Congress party and the latter rewarded him by nominating him to the Legislative Council under the Governor’s quota.

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The Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), and TJS have declared their support for the Congress candidate. The CPI-M has said its main objective is to defeat the BJP. The party called upon its cadres, supporters, and sympathisers to vote for the Congress candidate.

Ministers and key leaders of the ruling Congress party participated in the campaign in support of Teenmaar Mallanna. The Congress leaders told the voters that the government is working sincerely to solve the problems of the unemployed youth by taking steps to provide them with jobs.

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BRS working president KT Rama Rao and senior leader T Harish Rao addressed meetings in support of party candidate Rakesh Reddy. The BRS leaders appealed to graduate voters to elect Rakesh Reddy so that he could raise people’s voices in the Legislative Council.